im pretty sure atlanta was 3rd at some point within the past decade, but i take it the amount of urbanization the city is going through has dulled out the density/percentage of gay households. it still feels amazing to see atlanta in the top ten though, but america's boat has to turn around at some point.

It isn't a measure of gay population...this survey counts the number of same-sex households. I guess single doesn't count, and most of the gay people I know are single...

There are lots of guys and girls live together because they can't get dates or may not even want them. That doesn't mean they are gay. It only means that they may do themselves without the help of a partner.

I happen to stumble on this thread as I was...working? Anyhow I am an openly gay man living and working in SLC, UT. I have lived in a few different metro areas around the country: LA, NYC, and Atlanta, so I do have some basis for comparison I have to admit that in the urban areas of SLC people are extremely tolerant. I introduce my partner as such and have never been rebuffed. Though if you travel far into suburban SLC opinions change dramatically. SLC is a liberal island in the most republican state in the nation. I have very much enjoyed being in this state though as a traveled man I am feeling the itch to find a new home elsewhere.

I think that if all gay people were to turn purple for a week once a year, you'd be amazed at how many people would be purple. I think there are a lot more than we realize among us. Not that that's a bad thing, I'm just saying. I live in a very red city in a ruby red state and the other night I went out with the neighbors and little did I know that 6 of the guys were gay. I couldn't believe it. These are decent, classy, masculine, the "I'd never have guessed" guys. I was pretty shocked. Good for them.

not all gays are liberal... red and blue states dont really matter im republican in a republican state (arizona) and am gay, and a lot of my friends are republican too. also, most of the people i know are single... so this study isnt very accurate. i wonder where phoenix ranks there is a huge community here in phx..

That's great that you two support the social conservatism and anti-homosexuality that the Republican party has represented so well over the past few decades, but you are a rarity. MOST of your Republican counter-parts do not support you or your "lifestyle" choice (see exit polls), and a large reason why MOST homosexuals are socially liberal.

Also, this study is only about same-sex couples, so it would be quite accurate to exclude single gay men and women. I am sure if you drew lines around central Phoenix and excluded the suburban areas, it would be near the top of the list.

I agree with UTPlanner that Salt Lake City is a liberal island that understands homosexuality and embraces diversity. It causes gay folk to flock to the central city and away from the socially conservative (and mostly Republican) suburban Utah neighborhoods, just as San Francisco attracts LGBT couples from all over the world because of its reputation as a liberal haven.

Like any big city, there are quite a few areas within the region that make you realize just how liberal the central city itself is.

Salt Lake is one of the few cities in the region. If you are in such glamourous places as Evanston, WY, Malad, ID, or Wendover, NV, Salt Lake City is your closest option if you want to be around gay people.

As far as the southeast goes, would any of you consider Atlanta to be a "gay mecca?" I have gotten the impression from a few that it is. Kinda hard to believe, being in the midst of the bible belt and all...The Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area seems to be the most progressive part of North Carolina (I'm really not sure if that's saying much though)...what other possible "islands of tolerance" might exist in the south?

There has to be some bias of location. Everyone says "my city is the largest gay city outside New York and San Fransico" based on their personal observations, just like everyone says their dog is more intelligent than most other dogs. These are observations made without really clear statistical backing.

I think it would stand to reason that larger cities have a greater gay population because they contain more straight people, and we need straight people to produce gay babies.

Whether that population is concentrated in a highly-visible neighborhood or dispersed throuought the generally "liberal" areas is going to depend on the culture of the city. I'd guess that gay populations in more conservative cities are more likely to concentrate in one bubble therefore be more highly visible. So being in a conservative state (like Texas) means your gayborhood is more visible because people flood in from the suburbs and concentrate in Austin and Houston. Same is probably true from Atlanta.

I know walking around Denver would give you the impression that way more than "ten percent" of the population is gay, because people flood in from all of Colorado, from New Mexico, Kansas, Wyoming, Oklahoma, etc. But we also have moderately gay-friendly suburbs, so there are more places to go to. Perhaps in Utah you really have to concentrate in Salt Lake because the suburban parts of the state are more hostile.

As for the presence of gay Republicans, should we even really be surprised?

I see a lot of frustration and animosity toward gay conservatives, and while I, personally, really oppose most political "conservative" thinking in the Amerian context, I don't think it's worth it to express indignation or shock. I'm not surprised in the least.

Most gay Republicans identify as libertarian in some sense. I'll give you that there is an accumulation of views in the conservative movement in which socially conservative peole are also economically conservative - so economic conservatives remind you of anti-gay people. There must be some psychology at the root of that - maybe the beleif, among conservatives, that undesirable "social deviants" are also the ones collecting and benefitting most from social programs.

But not all views necessarily aggregate. There are socially conservative people who are supportive of gun control. There are anti-abortion people who think that free healthcare is a human right. And so forth - there are all kinds of outliers, and I'd venture to say that MOST americans have at least one view that counters their sterereotypical position on the left vs. right continuum.

Say that you growing up in a very conservative Republican household, and at the age of 15 you realize you are gay. Your anti-homosexuality views are going to liberalize quite quickly because of your own self-interest. You know, from experience, that it's not a "choice," that you aren't the destruction of western society, and that you'd like to get married someday. So suddenly you are a "liberal" when it comes to gay rights.

But you've also been taught that immigrants are fundementally untrustworthy and threaten our english-speaking American culture or tradition. Are your views on that going to change because you are gay?

You've been taught that welfare programs are just giveaways to lazy and careless drug-addicted people. Are your views on that going to change just because you are gay?

You've been taught that healthcare is a privelege, not a right, and if you can't afford it you don't deserve it. Are your views on that going to change just because you are gay?

SOME of your views may liberalize because of your sexuality if you are intellectual enough to find paralells from one form of marginalization with other, superficially unrelated forms of marginalization. You may, obviously, be more resistant to your parents' racism because it reminds you of their homophobia. You will be resistant to a lot of arguments against abortion or sexual ethics that come from religious conservative organizations because they remind you of their arguments against gay rights. You might meet a number of people with HIV and your positions on healthcare will liberalize because you realize how few options they have and count them among your friends. You might understand how discrimination continues to exist even among outwardly tolerant organizations and you'll become more open to affirmative action or civil rights lawsuits.

But it doesn't mean that every issue liberalizes. You still may love owning guns. You still may oppose immigration. You still may think that global warming is a myth perpetuated by zellous environmentalists. You still may think a 35% tax rate is way to high. You still may think that Islam is evil, and the fact that you're gay might help that prejudice along because you recognize homophobia in Islamic societies.

Running through the rolodex of my political beleifs I don't think I hold a single conservative view - but honestly, I don't think it's fair to hate on gay Republicans either. You are no more no less obligated to adopt "better" views on an issue because of your sexual orientation - I levy no more judgement than I would on any Republican who is not gay.